Red Tulips
by Lucien Dawn
Summary: (New chapter added.) Tsuzuki surprises Hisoka on a Sunday.
1. Red Tulips

**Red Tulips**

Lucien

Disclaimer: I don't own Yami no Matsuei.

Notes: Please don't give bad reviews as I'm temporarily disabled with mumps and am being quarantined in a cramped room. :P

~*~*~*~*~

A shaft of light illuminated the young boy's sleeping figure. He was tangled up in the bed sheets but was sleeping in relative serenity. This was one of those days wherein he didn't rouse from bad dreams… those days were getting less and less, his partner had noted. 

But still, they existed. They were there. 

The man frowned.

Thoughts were pouring forth the man's head. He thought of how much the boy meant to him and how much he was willing to give to make the boy's life – or rather, afterlife – better. Finding no good solution, he decided to make himself useful and cook breakfast.

After cooking pancakes dripping in sweet but sloppy syrup, the man was satisfied. He stirred some powdered juice, and together with the pancakes (who were now laid unto a nice china plate), he put it into a small tray for his beloved partner. Smiling to himself, he thought up of his partner's reaction when the boy wakes up.

A blush, perhaps? Or maybe even a – gasp – smile? A 'thank you'? Maybe… 'Idiot!'? 

All possible reactions that the boy might give appealed to the older man. The man giggled to himself as he thought up of more ways to make his partner happier.

Just then, a thought struck him. Flowers! That would be nice. His partner would appreciate beauty perhaps as much as he does. 

The man thought up of what kind of flower he should give to his partner. Getting one from his garden was out of the question. His garden had been quite untended for a while. Since he moved in with this boy, he wasn't able to visit his former lodging much. The thought of his garden being unkempt with weeds saddened him.

He snapped out of the near-trance he was apt to have gotten into and scribbled a note for his partner.

_Gone out to buy… sweets, will be back soon, don't wait up for me. Breakfast is somewhere in the house. – Tsuzuki 3_

Thinking that 'breakfast is somewhere in the house' was a bit… crude, he rewrote the note to 'breakfast is in the kitchen. Yummy pancakes and fruit juice for you'.

The man wanted to be back even before the boy woke up so as to present his surprise himself, but thinking that he might not be back before the boy wakes up, he just wrote the note and posted it on the bathroom door, knowing the boy's habit of washing his face after waking up.

~*~*~*~*~

The man hadn't expected it to be so hard to find a florist's shop open at an early hour. Every flower store he knew was still closed.

He chided himself for not knowing that it was Sunday before he had gotten himself on this madman's search. Finally finding one open – which was at the other end of town – he smiled a bit. His efforts weren't for nothing after all. Checking his watch (it was five thirty in the morning) he felt a bit of relief. The boy usually wakes up at six, and the day being Sunday, he might be up a little late.

Upon entering the shop, a girl docked in a pink apron embroidered with flowers over a white shirt and black denim pants greeted him.

"Good morning, sir," she smiled.

The man smiled back.

"Good morning."

The man eyed the different flower arrangements in the selection. There were different pots containing different flower arrangements. There was even the 'ikebana' arrangement that he was fond of. He glanced around the small store and found a rack containing bouquets of flowers.

Ah, that was what he wanted. He walked up to it and looked at the flowers. There were so many that he was quite confused on what he should pick.

"Ah, miss, could you help me pick some flowers?" He asked the girl who had greeted him earlier.

The young lady smiled, "Sure thing."

The man found his attention drifting elsewhere as the girl explained the different symbolizations of the flowers.

"A pink carnation – ah, this one – is a great flower to give for parting, it means 'I'll never forget you'. Now these freesias symbolize innocence. Some more flowers that symbolize 'innocence' are daisies and baby's breath. A stripped carnation, meanwhile, means 'Sorry, I can't be with you'. A red chrysanthemum means love, quite romantic, eh? Anyway, a rosebud is a sign of beauty and youth whilst a single red rose in full bloom means 'I love you'."

The man's attention floated unto the beautiful bouquet of red tulips on a corner full of dull colored flowers, making it stand out.

"Miss, what do those red tulips mean?"

The girl's smile widened.

"Red tulips represent declarations of love."

~*~*~*~*~

The man found himself a few minutes before six holding a ridiculously large bouquet of red tulips. Knowing that it would take ages to get to the other side of town where he and boy lived, he decided to get there the more convenient way.

He went into an abandoned alley and teleported himself to his home. 

Not taking any chances, he gingerly tiptoed to their room and pressed an ear to the door. No talking. No television noise. No flipping of book pages. No dripping of water from a shower. No sound.

Smiling in contentment, the man went to the kitchen. He sat down and thought about his grand plan. The pancakes were still warm, to the man's delight, but the juice was, too. He got some ice cubes and put it in the drink. Now, his surprise was ready. He had the flowers and the meal all set up.

The man got his note and dumped it in the trash bin. Who needed notes when you can tell a person what you want to say personally now?

Giddy with excitement, the man got up from his reclined position in a very comfortable chair and entered the bedroom.

He was just in time, too.

The boy looked as if he were to wake up a second later. The boy's body moved slightly and his eyes slowly – ever so slowly – opened. Blinking for a few times, his glance met his partner's.

"Good morning, Hisoka," the older man beamed brightly.

"…Morning, Tsuzuki," the boy replied pleasantly, his eyes still trying to adjust to the light.

The older man let the boy rest for a quick moment before going on with his planned surprise.

"Ne, Hisoka, I've got a surprise for you."

The boy sighed and nodded.

The man led the youth to the kitchen, where a sight greeted him.

The boy stared in incredulity. The kitchen – for once – was neat and tidy. And… was there a meal waiting for him? Wait… is that… flowers!?

The man looked at the boy's dumbfounded stare and grinned as he took it for approval.

A while later, he got the boy to recover from the previous shock and 'sit and relax', then setting the tray laden with food before him, asked him to eat.

The boy looked doubtful for a while. He knew that the man wasn't exactly a gourmet chef, he was far from it. He knew that eating the older man's food would be like swallowing pesticide, and he wasn't stupid enough to do a thing like that. But upon seeing the man's eager face, he gulped the lump that had formed in his throat and took a forkful in.

Surprisingly, the pancakes didn't taste as bad as he thought it would be. It wasn't what he might call 'great', but it was satisfactory. He managed to finish the whole plate and drank the juice to get rid of the sugary aftertaste.

After mumbling a quick 'thanks, you shouldn't have…' the boy was presented with the red tulips.

The older man chuckled.

"It isn't much but… I want you to have this."

The boy's face reddened. He wasn't sure of how to accept the flowers. After having read quite a number of books, he knew what they represented, and the fact made him blush even more. He didn't know whether the man picked the flower perfectly aware of their meaning or whether it was just a coincidence.

"T-thank you, Tsuzuki…" The boy thanked the older man, taking the flowers delicately. 

The flowers were beautiful. The red tulips were complemented by the green leaves… the shade of green not much different than the shade of those of the boy's eyes. The boy wanted to say so much more, but somehow… he couldn't.

The older man, meanwhile, rambled on.

"Hisoka, do you know what red tulips mean?"

The boy wanted very much to say 'yes, I do' but something in him held it in.

"No, Tsuzuki… I don't. Tell me," the boy answered.

The man stifled a giggle, "Well, I'm not quite sure, but the lady at the flower shop told me that red tulips are declarations of love. Isn't that funny, Hisoka?"

The boy only nodded in reply.

--Owari--

~*~*~*~*~

*sighs* finally finished~! ^__^ Err… sorry if the characters are a bit OOC and I referred to Hisoka and Tsuzuki as the boy and the man throughout the fic, I just couldn't help it. XD And credit goes to Questor magazine for the flower meanings. All of the symbolization of the flowers came from their article on Lunlun the Flower Angel.

Anyway, please review! :P


	2. No More Flowers

**No More Flowers**

Lucien

Disclaimer: Yami no Matsuei does not belong to me… *sticks tongue out* :P

Notes: This is the continuation to 'Red Tulips'. I decided to continue it because the ending wasn't really an ending at all. Err… if you notice some grammatical errors and/or misspelled words, please tell me. English is not my mother tongue, but I stare at a Tagalog-English dictionary everyday. Unfortunately, I'm not that fluent with Tagalog either -___-. Oh well, here is the story! *eye twitch*

~*~*~*~*~

Hisoka muttered and kicked a stray stone on the pathway. The morning had started out all right. He couldn't somewhat put a finger on why he was in such a bad mood. 

It was about an hour or two after twelve noon. The weather was a tad hot and Hisoka didn't know why he wanted to take a walk. He had left Tsuzuki dumbfounded and wondering if something was wrong.

…Of course something was wrong --

-- He just couldn't tell.

He grumbled and muttered some more. He felt awful about leaving Tsuzuki's company after all that the man had done for him that morning.

"It's normal, it's normal," the boy reassured himself over and over again, "its normal. It should be. Flowers can be given to virtually _anybody."_

But why was he so worried about what Tsuzuki had done? There wasn't anything wrong in it, after all. 

Hisoka had grown in a strict and disciplined environment wherein giving flowers to another of the same gender was an act of taboo. No, scratch that. Even in his upbringing, it was alright to do such a thing.

Flowers could be given for birthdays, weddings, graduation, even funerals. So Hisoka couldn't understand what was bothering him so much.

Maybe…

It bothered him that he felt something for Tsuzuki. And that it wasn't just regular emotions that he felt. What do I mean by 'regular'? Maybe 'regular' was friendship, admiration, sympathy, and the like. But… he wasn't feeling any of _those. What he felt was a completely new and different emotion from anything else he had felt before._

It frightened him. Almost anything new – that wasn't proven and tried safe – worried him. Years of suffering had made him jaded, but one night of fear and torture had made him protective of whatever he had.

No, he mustn't remember that night. He was trying to forget, after all. He was trying to forget the deed itself, but his tormentor… his _murderer would never be forgotten. _

One thing about his murderer was that he liked dolls. It struck people as general eccentricity for one to like dolls – mere playthings for little children. He was a character, people would say.

Another thing about his murdered was that he… he liked flowers. He liked red roses. If you look at the shade of the roses that he sometimes carried around, you might think of brick-red, or maroon, or even China-red, but… no other color fits his character and his roses better than blood-red. The moon, particularly, seems to agree with that one. Whenever his murderer made a kill, it would be known to the boy – Hisoka – by the color of the moon.

Silver or whitish grey means that nothing had happened. No kills for the day. If it was blood-red, well… something was wrong. A few days later, there'd probably be a case for Hisoka and his partner Tsuzuki.

Over time, Hisoka had gotten over the moon. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary now. 

Hisoka kept on walking. He had reached the village park now. He wondered how he got there. The small house cum apartment that he and Tsuzuki shared in Chijou was a bit far-off from the residential homes he had reached just now. He sat on one of the benches in the park, knowing that he needed to rest for a while. 

The weather was bit cool now and a gentle breeze would blow every now and then. The breeze wasn't warm or cold, it was just… a breeze. Anyway, children were starting to come and play now, some accompanied by their caretakers or parents.

Hisoka was glad that he took care in picking a bench far from those happy people. No, not happy, _too_ happy. People like that always gave him a headache.

A small boy, about seven or eight, was panting after having slid in a fairly small slide, Hisoka observed. The boy looked around the park, taking note of the benches. Some were filled with fat ladies who were chatting merrily, some were occupied by young teenagers who held hands and displayed their affection for their partner. The boy's roaming eye settled upon Hisoka who was sitting alone in a concrete park bench, away from the bustling groups having fun.

The boy slowly walked towards Hisoka, and Hisoka, having noticed, shifted a little. 

"Hullo," the boy said with a silly accent that was cute and annoying at the same time.

Hisoka had sensed that he was different from the others. This boy wasn't as energetic as the others, and he was alone. Moreover, there weren't many feelings that oozed from his heart unto Hisoka's mind.

"Hello. What's your name?" Hisoka asked, remembering proper etiquette. 

"K-Ken, what is yours?" The boy seemed to have trouble pronouncing the letter 'K'.

Hisoka's face remained blank.

"My name is Hisoka."

A short silence passed.

"Oh." The boy remarked, taking a seat beside Hisoka, wiping the sweat that had materialized in his forehead.

"Brother – I mean, Mr. Hisoka, you don't live here, do you?"

"Yes."

"Where do you live?"

Hisoka wanted to say that he lived in a place in the heavens – in Meifu.

"I live near this place, you know the apartments?"

The boy nodded. 

Hisoka was about go away and forget about this Ken-child but after taking a look in the boy's eyes, he felt compelled to talk to the boy more. The boy, on a closer look, was thin and pale. His eyes were very deep and looked deficient of sleep. His cheeks were a bit hollow and his lips were thin and slightly curved.

Hisoka knew that the boy was sick with something. The boy was probably suffering from some terminal disease. But with Hisoka's special ability of extra sensory perception*, he knew that the boy would pass away in a year or two, and so, he wanted to make a memory for the boy. Hisoka remembered the years he had spent in the pristine hospital which brought about fetid memories.

Hisoka went on, "But, that's only where I and my partner stay. We really live in Meifu – the land of the dead. Things aren't much different there than what you can find here."

The boy's eyes widened. 

"Eh? Then… b-brother, are you dead?"

Hisoka attempted to laugh.

"It depends on how you describe 'dead'."

"Oooh…" The boy fawned. "Tell me a story about M-m-meifu."

Hisoka thought for a moment before answering.

"Once, there was a happy-go-lucky man. He was friendly and cheerful – although… Anyway, there was also this mad-scientist where I live. At least he calls himself a scientist. But no one trusts his experiments. One day, he gives a potion to the first man and then… Do you know what happened to the man?"

The boy's head shook vigorously.

"No, tell me!"

"Okay. The man was twenty-six in appearance but really old inside. The mad scientist had turned the man into a child. And the child was so cute and adorable and --"

"You like the child?" Ken interrupted.

"Y-ye-e-s," Hisoka's answer was dragged out slowly, with a slight stammer on his 'y'.

After some small talk, the boy left.

Hisoka wondered why he had some hesitation saying that he liked the child… _Tsuzuki_

After some more minutes – about ten or fifteen – something clicked in Hisoka's mind. It was like finding a key that fits a lock out of a thousand keys. He knew what he should tell Tsuzuki now.

~*~*~*~*~ 

Upon arriving, Hisoka took off his shoes and laid them neatly beside the door mat. He wondered what his juvenile partner was up to.

After looking around in the rooms, he found out that his partner was up to nothing. Tsuzuki was just sleeping on the couch. Hisoka thought it to be weird since Tsuzuki was not fond of sleeping on the couch.

'It's too hard,' he'd reason, and Hisoka would always let him sleep on the bed thereafter, knowing it futile to have another argument.

Hisoka sat on the corner of the couch that Tsuzuki was sleeping on. Hisoka's partner didn't take up much space as he lay slightly curled. Tsuzuki had taken off his blazer and his sleeves were rolled up. Hisoka thought that it was due to the hot weather earlier.

After some more minutes, Tsuzuki began to rouse. He was smiling, which was good, Hisoka observed.

Silence passed. Tsuzuki was fully awake now.

Hisoka cleared his throat.

"Tsuzuki, I want to talk to you."

Hisoka's partner flashed his amiable smile at him.

"Okay, I'm listening."

The young boy felt incredibly hot inside though the temperature of the living room was cool. He managed to speak calmly.

"I want to thank you."

Tsuzuki was still smiling, albeit confused.

"…for?"

"I want to thank you for this morning. I want to thank you for everything. You've always been there for me."

"Oh, you're welcome."

More silence passed. Tsuzuki sat straight on the couch and unrolled his sleeves.

Hisoka was looking at Tsuzuki's purple eyes.

"I don't think that thanking you is enough, though."

"…No, it's enough and more for me. I should be thanking you too, considering that you've always been there for me too."

"That's what partners do." 

Can I see something here?

"Yep, thanks."

It went on like that for a few more minutes. The two thanked each other profusely. They thanked one another for a sweet, lending a pen, finding his book, and so on.

Hisoka, hating all things pointless, decided to change the topic.

"The flowers," Hisoka whispered, pokerfaced.

"You want a garden?" Tsuzuki wondered aloud.

"No. The tulips you gave me earlier."

"Oh, you meant _those_ flowers! What about it?"

Hisoka wanted to say that he didn't like to be given flowers. Flowers reminded him so much of his murderer – Muraki. Hisoka also wanted to ask why Tsuzuki picked red tulips.

"…"

"…Don't you like it?"

"Yes, I like it," Hisoka lied, "I like it very much… Why did you pick red tulips, Tsuzuki?"

Hisoka's question was rushed and just added on. After so much delay, Hisoka decided that he wanted to be frank with Tsuzuki. _Straight to the point and no nonsense, that's how you should talk to him_.

Hisoka couldn't tell what Tsuzuki was feeling by his face. Reading Tsuzuki's emotions would be hard, considering the fact that Tsuzuki always had a barrier nowadays. Moments when he caught Tsuzuki off guard was getting rarer and rarer.

"I picked them… for you; I thought that you'd like them. I also picked them because…"

Tsuzuki paused and looked worried. Some seconds passed until he continued.

"I picked them because I like you."

Hisoka's heart skipped a beat. He was feeling a tad light-headed. He didn't know what he felt.

Tsuzuki was biting his lip.

"I – I'm sorry. Please forget about it."

"Don't be."

"What?"

"Don't be sorry, Tsuzuki."

The two looked a bit awkward. Hisoka continued and mumbled on.

"Don't be sorry… I like you too…"

Whatever happened from there on was beyond words.

Their conversation – or rather, confession, took place in the early afternoon. Now, it was a few minutes before ten, and the two were again sitting at the divan, Hisoka reading a novel and Tsuzuki staring at Hisoka as time passed by.

"Hisoka, can I ask you something?"

Hisoka held his book and inserted his thumb to keep track of the page he was reading.

"Yeah?"

"When you asked about the flowers… you seemed upset. Why?"

Hisoka sighed before replying.

"It's hard to explain. At first I thought that the flowers where wonderful. And really, they were. But then, I remembered some events that I associate with flowers. Like… _him_…"

"Oh."

"I shouldn't be saying these things to you."

Tsuzuki disregarded Hisoka's comment and smiled.

"Okay, no more flowers next time, then."

Hisoka nodded and was about to say something, but was cut short when Tsuzuki leaned over the short gap between them and gave Hisoka a hug.

"Because they make you feel bad…" Tsuzuki added in a whisper.

Somewhere in between their hug, Hisoka let go of his book, smiled, and returned the hug.

He would just have to get lost in the pleasure of reading the novel again.

_'No more flowers.'_

What a wonderful promise.

--Owari--

~*~*~*~*~

A/N: *eye twitch* I don't like the ending. I don't like the Ken-guy either. But the hugging scene was fun. O.O (Again, sorry if the characters are OOC, but at least I didn't call Tsuzuki and Hisoka 'the man' and 'the boy' again :/ )

* Um, a footnote… I referred to Hisoka's ability slash empathy slash ESP. I don't know if he can foresee deaths, but if he can't, leave it to his common sense to know that the Ken-boy is sick and will die soon. He is a bit OOC, striking a conversation with a stranger, but I like him that way. Doing random acts of kindness, I mean.

Anyway, please review! :P

- Lucien Dawn (- __ -)


End file.
